19151963

1915–1963 is a historical span that encompasses two world wars, a decolonizing world, and the rise of Cold War politics. The period begins in World War I, with mass mobilizations and violence. In 1915 the Armenian genocide and other wartime atrocities occurred as empires collapsed. The Russian Revolution of 1917 toppled the tsarist regime and led to the creation of a Soviet state. World War I ended in 1918–1919, and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 redrew European borders and reshaped international relations.

Between the wars, economies and political systems were unsettled. The Great Depression began with the 1929 stock market crash, contributing to social and political upheaval worldwide. In 1939 World War II began with the invasion of Poland and ended in 1945 after continental and global conflict. The war's end saw the creation of the United Nations in 1945 and the Bretton Woods institutions earlier in 1944, establishing frameworks for international finance. The postwar era also saw the emergence of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as rising independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Scientific and technological advances transformed daily life and geopolitics. The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the space age begin with the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight in 1961. Nuclear politics shaped security architecture, culminating in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which restricted atmospheric tests. The era also produced breakthroughs in medicine, computing, and communications.

Civil rights, social reform, and cultural shifts marked the era's politics and culture. The year 1963, for example, witnessed the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, events that underscored upheaval and calls for change.